Tuesday 8 April 2014

Eider Known You Were Coming, Eider Baked a Cake...

This morning's check around the patch was at least a dry one, but that wind was way too westerly for anything much in the way of migrants. Back when I worked in Morecambe I would visit the Stone Jetty daily, pre-work and again at lunchtime. Onshore winds in spring could be pretty productive there, but sadly Aldcliffe rarely benefits from such conditions.
Consequently, I found little of note. Freeman's Pools were bereft of all wildfowl and waders (had some predator or early local dog-walker with a footpath aversion cleared everything out?). 3 little egrets were fishing there, plus a trio of roe deer were grazing the southern perimeter but that was about it. Three sand martin were feeding over the main pool.
A pair of grey partridge were in the fields to the south of the bunds.
The Wildfowlers' Pools held at least 6 gadwall, a drake wigeon and a handful of teal and shelduck.
Multiple chiffchaffs continue to sing from the cycle track shrubbery with a solitary willow warbler in much the same place as yesterday.
Interesting to see that a pair of red-breasted merganser and 5 eider were on the river.
The 70 or so pinkfeet were still on Colloway, and a peregrine was patrolling the estuary but there was no sign of anything new in.

Jon

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